What Is A Balance & Mobility Class?

The best way to understand what goes on in a balance and mobility class is to attend, either observing or participating. The following description will provide some sense of the method and class environment.

Confidentiality

Balance function is a component of a person’s medical history. It is a personal and private matter. Many people are embarrassed and reluctant to admit to a balance problem. Others are concerned about well meaning family members limiting their independence.

Out of respect for such concerns, there is a basic confidentiality agreement that guarantees privacy regarding all medical information shared in class. This includes any history of falls. The reason I cannot simply post a video of a typical class is because doing so would violate the privacy agreement. All images of individuals on this website are used by permission.

Function

The function of balance and mobility training is to help a person feel safe when moving from place to place. That is achieved by:

1. Performing exercises to increase strength, flexibility, sensory awareness, reflexes, and concentration.
2. Increasing confidence by working through a series of progressive challenges that improve the ability to correct imbalances as well as strengthen the skill to consistently implement safe movement strategies.  These strategies and others combine to lower the fear of falling.
3. Restoring independence and joy in movement.

Fear & Pain

Balance is a high priority in our bodies. Balance control is mostly an unconscious process when the system is functioning normally. Conscious control is activated when some circumstance such as an unfamiliar surface demands our attention. When balance does not function normally, there may be intense fear as well as physical pain associated with injuries from a fall.

Fear and pain produce thought patterns that are dominant, persistent and stressful.  Fear triggers the survival response, also known as the fight-flight response. The fear and fatigue induced by impaired balance can be paralyzing.

Fear associated with falling takes time to resolve so consequently one must live with it for a while. That leads to a prolonged and repeated triggering of the survival response. Repeated activation of the survival response leads to an accumulation of additional mental and physiologic stresses.

It is no wonder that people begin to limit activity or simply stop wanting to move around. The problem with limiting movement is that the body grows even weaker and the condition gets worse. Balance and Mobility training can be a powerful tool for safely increasing mobility and regaining independence.

Motivation

The form and intensity of motivation that compels a person to seek help with balance constitutes an integral part of the balance class experience. The following pathways to seeking help with balance are very common:

1. A physical event such as a fall has occurred and/or there is some fear or anxiety about falling that is motivating efforts to strengthen balance.
2. Under certain circumstances there is uncertainty about balance or avoidance of activities that stress the balance. It is common to experience difficulty rising from a seated position or climbing steps.
3. Somebody else may have expressed concern for your safety and either recommended training or teamed up to mutually improve conditioning.
4. A person may simply want to be proactive in maintaining balance fitness.
5. A doctor or other health professional may have recommended balance training.
6. A sickness or injury has in some way resulted in an unsteady condition. There may have been physical therapy, but it is over and now there are lingering doubts about stability.

Training Structure

It is convenient to approach balance training in blocks of sixteen hours of accumulated training. Research has shown that most individuals show tangible improvement over that time period. There are several ways to do it. My classes are structured in different ways depending on the host facility and other factors.

Here are a few ways that people strengthen their balance in the context of my class structure:

• Attend a one hour class class twice a week for eight weeks
• Attend a one hour class once a week for a total of sixteen weeks.
• Attend an on-going class for however long it takes to feel better.

One of the most important ideas to grasp is that balance is a skill which is dependent on having sufficient strength in the hips and legs. Balance is a skill that is maintained by including sufficient levels of diverse physical activity in our lives. Balance and mobility classes teach a person what to do and how to do it.

Class Environment

You will be in a space with a group of individuals who share similar concerns. No spectators or recording devices are allowed. The class is a mixture of verbal information, supervised movement, and supplemental material provided on this website.

The movements are performed seated and standing with strict attention to safety. Anything can be modified to suite the unique needs of each individual. Various forms of special equipment are used to augment the training.

Nobody is left behind. Sometimes, I will request that a person have a family member or care-giver present if the instability warrants close monitoring.

Expectations and Progression

It is important to keep the following ideas in mind:

• It is normal to lose balance. The balance system is always active, even when we are sleeping. The body is constantly making small corrections in posture and balance, especially when we are standing or moving.
• It is abnormal to fall, especially if it happens in a pattern and for no apparent reason or under conditions that should normally be manageable (like walking on a mild slope or uneven surface).
• It is normal to experience fear, especially if you have had a bad fall. The most common emotional reactions to falling are fear, a powerful sense of embarrassment, and feeling that you did something wrong.
• Balance training works. You are not condemned to falling just because you are aging. Age is a risk factor, as is behavior, environment, and other conditions that you will learn to manage in class. Each person is assessed in an effort to determine the best course of action. If I don’t think that I can help you with your balance, I will say so – but it is rare.
• The classes will help to identify the primary source of your balance problem and empower you by providing the tools to make it better.

As time passes and the classes proceed, there will be a gradual improvement in strength and control. Other people may notice a change before you do. Because of the acute discomfort caused by impaired balance, it is normal to experience an urgent desire for the condition to improve rapidly. Be patient, keep attending class, and don’t lose hope!

Students are encouraged to repeat the course until a regular routine of physical activity is achieved. Some students attend my balance and mobility classes regularly for extended periods of time.  Others, armed with the information gained from balance training, will move on to other physical activities in order to maintain balance fitness.